Marshalltown trowel

[1] A patent filed for its handle by the company on July 12, 1927 was granted on December 23, 1930.

It is larger and more flexible than the WHS trowel preferred by archaeologists in the United Kingdom, which makes it better for cleaning sections but less suited to digging heavy clay and gravel deposits.

A 1982 American Anthropologist article, "The Golden Marshalltown: A Parable for the Archeology of the 1980s," relates an exchange between a younger version of an American archaeologist Kent V. Flannery and an experienced older archaeologist.

[3] The "Old Timer" likens an archaeologist's first trowel to "a major leaguer's first Wilson glove."

According to the Old Timer, his trowel has accompanied him to many famous dig sites, such as Snaketown, Angel Mound, and the Dalles of the Columbia, and is now a legendary item in its own right.